The information fell this Friday, May 6. Prince Harry, grandson of the Queen of England, as well as his wife Meghan Markle, will not be present on the balcony of Buckingham for the jubilee of Elizabeth II. Her son, Prince Andrew, will also be absent. Why ?
The date of June 2 should mark the start of the festivities of the 70 years of reign of Elizabeth II, but “after careful consideration, the queen has decided that the traditional appearance on the balcony for the Salut aux couleurs (Trooping the Color, Ed) will be this year limited to Her Majesty and members of the Royal Family who carry out official public engagements on behalf of the Queen,” a palace spokesperson said.
In fact, this official announcement is not really a surprise after the decision of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, an American ex-actress with whom he lives in California, to withdraw from the British monarchy in 2020.
Regarding Prince Andrew, the latter is now deprived of any official role because of his links with the Epstein affair.
Limited attendance at other events?
A total of 18 members of the royal family, including Crown Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, as well as his son William, his wife Kate and their three children, are expected at the balcony of Buckingham on the occasion of this great military parade, which had been canceled two years in a row in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
A source within the palace quoted by the PA agency, however, did not rule out that Harry, Meghan and Andrew could take part in other events planned as part of the festivities.